Sunburst Youth Academy cadets graduate with changed lives

Dec. 16, 2013

Updated 4:26 p.m.

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Cadet Jonathan Nino, 18, of North Hills gives a thumbs-up sign while he and his peers listen to cadets and government officials speak at their graduation ceremony. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Sunburst Youth Challenge Academy held its graduation for more than 50 program participants on Friday afternoon. Sunburst is a five-and-a-half month residential and 12 month post-residential program that targets high school dropouts between the ages of 16 and 18. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Cadet Jonathan Nino, 18, of North Hills gives a thumbs-up sign while he and his peers listen to cadets and government officials speak at their graduation ceremony.MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Families and friends of students enrolled in the Sunburst Youth Academy filled the Cottonwood Church in Los Alamitos last week to congratulate former high school dropouts on graduating and, for some, getting their high school diplomas.

On Friday, cadets dressed in gray uniforms complete with berets sat before a stage of representatives from the Orange County Department of Education, military officers and elected government representatives, all in attendance to congratulate cadets on starting a path toward a new life.

This is the 12th class to graduate from the free, federal and state-funded program that teaches kids academics in an immersive military-style environment that also includes intense physical activity and leadership.

For Sunburst, this class was the largest it has ever graduated, with over 150 graduates of the program and 61 students receiving their high school diplomas.

The start of the ceremony projected faces of students on screens on either side of the stage: They told the stories that led them to Sunburst.

“I was a high school dropout, getting in trouble, smoking heroin,” said one.

“I was gangbanging since the age of 14,” said another.

“I’ve been told so many times that I wasn’t gonna be nothing in life,” said a third.

The students then told stories of how they have changed during the five-and-a-half month program: They’ve learned discipline and how to achieve goals. One girl who used to deal drugs now dreams of becoming a DEA agent.

“There’s no one path to get you to a particular place,” said Assemblyman Allan Mansoor, who told the story of his path to politics after working what he felt were dead-end jobs. “If I can get my life in order, so can you.”

Cadet Kimberly Gutierrez, one of the students receiving a high school diploma in the graduation ceremony, stood on stage to praise her classmates for successfully getting through the unique experience.

“I know for a fact that everyone here has a great future ahead of them, whether they choose to join the military force, go to college or return to high school,” she said. “We have learned the true meaning of community, and we are grateful.”

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